Harry Potter and the Dark Councillors
by whatanauthorsgottado
Summary: Darth Ravage has discovered a new planet, with a population of Force users! Anubin is sent to investigate, and finds himself at Hogwarts, in the final year of the First War...
1. Discovery

_Carefully…_

Anubin called on the Force to lift the third artifact into the air, forming a triangle in midair. The artifacts began to spark with power, and a line of lightning shot out of each, connecting them to each other. The space between them warped, the beginnings of the rift described in the tablet buried with the artifacts. Anubin reached out again to add his own power to that coursing through the artifacts…

And was interrupted by the holocom ringing in the main hold. His concentration broke and the artifacts fell to the floor. Anubin cursed and dropped to his knees, checking the artifacts for damage.

"Andronikos," he called, "inform whoever is on the holo that I'm in the middle of a breakthrough, and I couldn't care less what the hell they have to say!"

Less than thirty seconds later, Andronikos came into the conference room. "It's Darth Marr. He says your breakthrough can wait. I don't think he's interested in a 'no'."

"Very well." Anubin stood, dusted off his clothes, and took his sweet time making his way to the holocom.

"Darth Occlus," Marr said by way of greeting. "Ravage has discovered a planet on the far regions of space that appears to host a small civilization of Force users."

"And you think they'll have artifacts and such for me to study," Anubin concluded. "You want me to join an invasion force?"

"That will be Ravage's call. He has called a meeting of the Dark Council to discuss it and other matters."

"Immediately, or should I make my way to Korriban?"

"Dromund Kaas. We convene in two days' time." With that, Marr's holo-image disappeared.

"He never is much one for goodbyes," Anubin muttered. To Andronikos, who had emerged from the conference room, he added, "Set a course for Dromund Kaas. I'll call Advena and see if she's been informed."

"You got it."

* * *

Anubin met Advena outside the Council chambers with a brief hug before both entered, taking their places – Anubin next to Marr, and Advena at the head of the chamber, as her position of Emperor's Wrath allowed. Shortly after they entered, the holo-images of several absent Councillors flickered to life, and the doors of the chamber closed, signaling the beginning of the meeting.

"I've discovered a planet with a civilization of Force-users," Darth Ravage began without preamble. "It's not on any chart. The only place I could find mention of it was in ancient texts; it seems our ancestors came upon this planet and its people."

When he did not continue, Anubin rolled his eyes. "And?"

"The Lords subjugated this planet, but for some reason they left it almost as soon as they had arrived. Some Lords stayed behind, manipulating the society to fit their ideals."

"How long ago was this?"

"Milennia ago, when the first Sith Lords had just discovered the Sith species and formed their new Empire. Recently, I made a preliminary scouting trip…" Ravage looked quite smug about this. Anubin was sure Ravage was enjoying knowing more than he did; his rival was always glad to have an advantage over him. "There are still Force users present on the planet. The group I made contact with attacked me, but I suspect there are other groups on the planet."

"You want to send a bigger scouting party, then?" At Ravage's nod, he offered, "I will join, then. If this civilization is truly as old as you say, they will no doubt have artifacts and rituals for study."

"Very well," Darth Marr said. "Darth Ravage, who else would you send?"

"I will go myself, of course. As head of expansion and diplomacy, it is my duty to make contact with newly discovered civilizations."

"We want to make contact with them _before_ subjugating them? That's a new one."

"Occlus, I will not have any of your cheek today!"

"Enough," Marr interjected before the vitriol really started to fly. "Occlus has a point. And given that memebers of this civilization have already attacked you, can you be certain that your diplomacy will be welcomed?"

"Who would you send, then?"

"I shall join Occlus in this venture," Darth Vowrawn spoke up. "Who knows what could be discovered on this planet? It's quite exciting!"

"We can take my ship. We shouldn't need much more than my crew for a diplomatic mission."

Vowrawn clapped his hands together. "That's that settled, then! Now, what else ought we to talk about?"

* * *

Anubin spent the next week before they departed gathering information on the planet and its civilization. Unfortunately, as Ravage said, information was severely limited, aside from what Ravage had already gathered. Anubin had access to that much, but Ravage was, of course, spectacularly uncooperative when he asked him for his people's reports.

"Can you just get over yourself and allow me access to the reports? As certain as I am that you want to see me fail, it would benefit us all if this venture succeeds."

"Why, Occlus, it is of course my singular pleasure to watch you succeed in all things, but I'm afraid I can't allow you access to the reports."

"And why is that?"

"Simply because they haven't been written yet." Ravage laughed at Anubin's incredulous look. "You see how difficult it is for me to offer you something that does not exist."

By the time they were to depart, the sum total of what Anubin had studied were some mentions of the planet in texts from around the era of the Great Hyperspace War, a few descriptions of the Force users' abilities and methods, and a detailed but corrupted document on their foci, which they called 'wands'.

"Not much to prepare ourselves with, is it?" Vowrawn asked rhetorically, skimming the small report Anubin had put together.

"Unfortunately, Ravage's reports weren't ready, so all I had to go on were a few mentions."

"You did quite well with such limited information. We shall make do."

With that, Anubin turned his attention to his crew. "Is everything prepared?"

"All supplies are loaded and stored away!" Talos confirmed with a grin. The archaeologist was as excited as Anubin was about this venture; a new planet to explore was all he'd ever dreamed of!

"Course is set. We heading out?"

Anubin followed Vowrawn's nod suit. "Let's go."

* * *

Three days later, the _Angel_ arrived in the new planet's system. Andronikos brought the ship in closer, and Anubin reached out his senses, searching for Force-users on the planet.

"There's a great concentration... here," he said, pointing to one particular continent and rattling off a string of coordinates. "The whole planet is teeming with life, but there are a few places where the Force runs more strongly."

"Taking us down."

The descent was uneventful until suddenly all of the ship's systems shut down.

"What the hell?!" Andronikos swore, slamming his fist against the console. "We're going down! Brace for impact!"

Anubin threw himself into the captain's chair, buckling himself in a second before the cockpit windows showed bright green grass as the ship crashed. Everything went black.


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

Anubin woke in a soft bed in a white room. Immediately, he got to his feet to look for his crew... and fell back to the bed, hissing in pain. He pushed past it and sat up, taking stock of his surroundings.

The room was long, with a row of beds along the longest walls. It was painted a soft white that was likely intended to be calming, but gave Anubin something of a headache from the light. His crew and Darth Vowrawn were in beds nearby, except for Khem Val, who was lying on some padding on the floor.

"You're awake!" came a gentle voice from the other side of the room. Anubin turned - carefully, mindful of the pain in his ribs - to see a matronly human woman bustling towards him. "Lie down, dear; you're hurt rather badly."

"Who are you? And where are we?" He suddenly noticed the absence of his weapon. "And where is my lightsaber?"

"Hush, hush. You can ask all your questions when the headmaster arrives. Now lie down, dear. Your ribs are broken, and I wasn't sure magic would be able to fix them, since you're, well..." She gestured to his horns.

"Not human, yes. So there's a headmaster I should speak to? Are we at a school?"

"Yes indeed. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm surprised you didn't know, given how your, er, craft came right towards us. Didn't you know what you were looking for?"

"Er, not exactly," Anubin mumbled, lying back at the woman's insistence. "We, uh... we crashed here. All our systems shut down."

"I see. Well, it was quite a crash - the whole school shook! You're quite lucky to be alive!"

The woman bustled over him for a moment more before turning her attention to his companions. Anubin watched her fuss over Talos for a while until the sound of a door opening called his attention.

The man who came through the door was quite a sight to behold. A full, bright silver beard spilled over the robes he wore, which were embroidered with crescent patterns. His hair, a silver to match his beard, was long enough to reach his waist., and it was covered on his head by a long pointed cap. The man stood probably as tall as Darth Marr, but was not nearly as wide - in fact, he was quite thin. A pair of bright blue eyes stared at Anubin over a long, crooked nose.

"I see you've awakened, finally. That's a good sign."

"I have. I assume you're the headmaster?" Anubin pushed himself up so he was sitting rather than lying back, ignoring the fire in his chest.

"I am. My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"Anubin."

"A pleasure. " He shook Anubin's hand with a firm grip,neither too tight or too loose. Anubin liked him immediately, though he had to admit there was something about the grandfatherly man that put him on edge. Perhaps it was just that he was used to the ever-scheming Darth Vowrawn, who was likely of a similar age to Albus.

"Poppy," Albus said, turning to the woman now looking over Andronikos, "how are our other patients?"

"They're all doing well. The human ones responded well to my healing magic; they should be waking up any minute."

As if on cue, Talos groaned. "Oh, my head... that was quite a crash!"

"Most definitely," Anubin said. "How are you feeling?"

"Quite well, my lord. Aside from a rather nasty headache, I don't appear to have suffered any injuries at all." He suddenly noticed Albus and Poppy. "Oh! Hello!"

"Hello. I am Albus Dumbledore."

"Talos Drellik, Imperial Reclamation Service."

"A pleasure." Albus' eyes flickered over to Anubin. "You shall have to introduce me to your companions. They seem a rather interesting group."

"Of course." Anubin stood, ignoring Poppy's tutting and the pain from his right leg, and stood at each bed in turn. "Andronikos. Ashara. Vowrawn. Talos, Xalek, and - why is Khem on the floor?"

"It wouldn't fit into a bed, unfortunately," Poppy said.

"He, not it. And fine." Anubin returned to his bed and sat again. "And that is my crew."

"Interesting. You're quite a varied crew, I see."

"Varied, eclectic - motley is the word I prefer."

Albus chuckled. "I can see why. May I ask you a question?"

"You already did, but go ahead."

"Why are you and your crew here?"

As Albus' eyes pierced his own, Anubin felt a foreign presence in his head. He shut it out and registered the micro-expression of surprise that crossed Dumbledore's face before he could stop it.

"We're here on a diplomatic mission, as envoys from the Sith Empire, come to see if the society of Force-users on this planet would be willing to join us."

"Force-users?"

Anubin smirked. "You said one question. I answered that." A sudden shock of pain stabbed through his ribs and he winced. "I can explain more when I've recovered, and when Vowrawn's awakened. For now, I need to rest."

"You are correct. Rest, and we will speak later." Dumbledore looked at Poppy. "Poppy, I shall leave our new charges to your capable care." With that, he swept out of the room.

* * *

The rest of the crew came to over the next few hours, and the testing began. Poppy wanted to know how her healing 'magic', as she called it, would affect the non-human crew members, so she spent a great deal of time examining each of them and testing the effects each 'spell' had on their physiology. The healing spells tended to work the same way on the non-human crew members as on the human ones, with the exception of Khem Val, who with his Force resistance wasn't affected by any spells, even the non-healing ones. This drove Poppy up the wall, but Anubin assured her that Khem would heal quickly even without her help.

Once she'd managed to heal what she could, Poppy released the crew from the hospital wing and into Dumbledore's care. He allowed them a suite of rooms in a tower near the one they called Gryffindor Tower.

Almost as soon as they had settled in, of course, Anubin, Ashara, Xalek and Vowrawn set to getting the _Angel_ out of the furrow that had been dug on her impact with the ground. It was a simple matter for the four Force-users, with a little help from Dumbledore, to lift the _Angel_ over the wall out of the wards, where the ship's technology would work again - Dumbledore explained that technology tended to have a bad reaction to the latent magic in the air around Hogwarts. Anubin thought it was more likely the field he could sense around the castle, meant to keep intruders out.

In any case, the ship was now largely functional, though it was in desperate need of repairs, which Anubin set Andronikos and Xalek to work on.

For the first several weeks, Anubin and Vowrawn spent most of their time with Dumbledore and his Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall - Vowrawn working on diplomacy and learning about the world's politics while Anubin worked on uncovering every little bit of history he could about the Force users on the planet. Minerva eventually became tired of Anubin's constant questions about every little thing and finally showed him the library, where Anubin, Ashara and Talos ended up spending most of their time.

Of course, at first, the offworlders had trouble reading the books, since they weren't in Basic, so Talos had the bright idea of having the librarian, a Madam Pince, read to them. That idea was shot down by the woman herself, who chose instead to help them learn to read - Talos wrote down the offworlders' Aurebesh and Pince wrote down the Earth equivalent, and they compared each character to find that the two writing systems were largely equivalent, though Basic had several extra characters. Once they got the writing difference solved, Anubin, Ashara and Talos began to take thorough notes on every book they thought was interesting or relevant, on subjects from history to charms and spells to wandlore.

"What about your focuses?" Anubin asked Minerva one day after reading a book on wandlore. "Are they the only way you can channel the Force, or can you channel it naturally?"

"Most witches and wizards can only channel magic through a wand."

"That's so... limiting. How can you stand it?"

"We manage."

"That was rhetorical. How does one go about getting a wand?"

Minerva returned to him the next day with an offer: Dumbledore would give him the money to buy a wand if he agreed to teach a small group how to channel magic without one. After a short consultation with Vowrawn, Anubin agreed. Showing these people to use the Force without foci would be trivial. He hoped.


	3. Let's Get You a Wand

Anubin paced the floor in front of the group, wondering what he should say first. Perhaps a greeting - or should he get right into it? He decided on the second option, as some of his audience seemed... twitchy.

"Using the Force - what you call magic - without a focus will not be easy for many of you, given how you're used to relying on them. The hope, though, is that you will at least grasp the basics within a few weeks."

He took stock of the expressions of his audience, pleased to find that they were mostly nodding and hopeful, rather than confused.

"Good. Now, everyone sit. Find a comfortable position. I will begin by teaching you to touch the Force with your senses through meditation."

By the end of the session, several members of the group - Dumbledore, Minerva, and a redheaded woman named Lily - had managed to feel the Force and reach out into it. Lily had even begun to try manipulating it, lifting her wand according to Anubin's instructions. She couldn't quite manage it, but he could feel her grasp on the wand by the time the session ended.

"You've all done quite well," Anubin said by way of conclusion. "Tomorrow, we will try again, and see if more of you can touch the Force. Being able to touch it is the first step to being able to manipulate it."

Some members of the group stayed behind to ask him some questions about the limits of their abilities without their wands, and he answered them to the best of his ability. When their curiosity was largely satisfied, they left, leaving Anubin alone with Minerva.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll go get Vowrawn."

The three were to go and get Anubin a wand. Minerva led them to the Headmaster's office, where she lit a fire in the hearth and explained to them about Floo travel. Anubin found the experience disorienting, but fascinating. Upon learning that the formula for Floo powder was a closely guarded secret, he made up his mind to demand in any possible treaty that he be taught the secrets of the Floo network.

They emerged from the fireplace in a rather cozy bar. The denizens didn't even flinch at their appearance, though Anubin caught some people glancing curiously at his tattoos. He pulled the hood of his robe forward a little, to better hide his horns.

Minerva led them behind the bar building to some bins smelling of garbage. Before Anubin could comment, she tapped one particular brick in the wall behind the bins with her wand.

The wall opened into a doorway to a long narrow street, shadowed on both sides by building holding shops of all kinds. Each shop had a wooden sign jutting into the air advertising their wares, from birds to books to what looked like a bloated organ of some kind. Anubin zeroed in on the sign displaying a wand with sparks at the end, the lettering below the wand declaring that the shop belonged to Ollivander and had been established in 635 BC, whatever that meant. Anubin took it to mean 'a long time ago'.

The three walked into that shop, a worn bell proclaiming their entrance with a tired chime. Shortly thereafter, an older-looking human with a shock of white hair made an appearance, smiling at the group. It was rather off-putting.

"Hello, Minerva. You're not here for a new wand, are you?" His gaze landed on Anubin and Vowrawn. "I don't recall ever meeting either of you. Perhaps you're the ones looking for wands?"

"I am, in fact," Anubin replied. "I was curious about your wands. I build foci for Force power myself, though they're usually not made of wood."

"Oh? Force? My dear boy, I do suppose you refer to magic? In that case, I would quite like to see what focus you use."

Anubin handed over his usual Force focus to the man, who was presumably Ollivander himself. Ollivander took it carefully, producing his own wand and tapping at it. The focus sparked, and Ollivander handed it back, satisfied.

"Interesting. I suppose your usual use involves channeling lightning?"

"Yes. I was wondering how that might affect a wand..."

The two chatted for some time about focus uses and materials. Anubin made a mental note to ask Dumbledore about teaching this man to wandlessly channel the Force; it seemed something he might be interested in.

"As terribly interesting as this conversation is," Vowrawn interrupted after a while, "are we not here for a reason?"

"Of course," Ollivander agreed. "Now, who would like to be measured first?"

"I will," Anubin volunteered.

Ollivander tapped a length of string on his desk with his wand, and it flew over to Anubin to measure him. He dropped his hood to allow it to measure his head, ignoring Ollivander's shock at seeing his horns.

The measuring string seemed enthusiastic about its job, moving on to measuring his ankles and wrists. Anubin had to draw the line when it attempted to measure between his nostrils, and he pushed it away with a blast of Force energy. It fell to the floor.

"I would appreciate it if you would try not to unleash magic on my equipment."

"Sorry."

"No matter. Try this. Fir and unicorn hair, ten and a quarter inches, reasonably bendy."

Anubin allowed the Force to flow through him into the wand, but found that the wand didn't want to channel the Force for him, if it could be said to have wants.

He asked Ollivander as much and received an emphatic yes. "The wand chooses the wizard, dear boy." Suddenly his face took on a look of confusion; combined with his hair and his long, thin features, it was almost comical. "I never learned your name."

"It's Anubin. And this is Vowrawn." Vowrawn nodded his agreement.

"I see. Well, Anubin, wands are capable of many things. In fact, wands are nearly conscious, with at least the ability to tell whether an individual is a suitable master, and..."

MInerva cleared her throat, and he cut himself off. "Of course, we can perhaps speak of wandlore in greater detail later. For now, try this. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. A rather odd combination, but it may just fit."

This wand had a rather explosive negative reaction, sending itself flying into one wall and Anubin into the other. He reacted quickly enough to cushion the impact.

"Marvellous! No, that absolutely does not fit! I know I have one here..." Ollivander dove into the back of the store, riffling through the boxes on one shelf until he apparently found what he was looking for.

"Vine and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarter inches, hard." As soon as he opened the box, the tip of the wand crackled with electricity.

Anubin reached out and took the wand in his hand. As soon as he did, his arm felt warm, and as he channeled the Force, it felt like a circuit had suddenly been completed. A spark jumped from the tip of the wand, exploding in midair with a crackle of lightning.

"It's perfect. I'll have to test my abilities with it further, but i believe it's perfect."

He switched the wand into his left hand and drew his lightsaber without activating it. He liked the feeling of both his weapons in his hands. Satisfied, he returned his lightsaber to his belt.

Ollivander, meanwhile, focused on Vowrawn. "Would you like to be fitted for a wand as well?"

"Why not? I admit, I found there was something about the spectacle you put on, Anubin, that's intrigued me greatly."

"Of course. You just enjoyed seeing me thrown across the room."

Vowrawn's eyes glittered. "Never. Perish the thought."

Ollivander watched their conversation with bright eyes, then went for the wand boxes again.

"Here. Dogwood and dragon heartstring, twelve inches, quite flexible."

Vowrawn took the wand. Immediately there was a loud pop and a small spark jumped from the end.

Vowrawn pointed the wand at the wall, and a small bolt of lightning flew from the end. The bolt stopped just before it hit the wall and dissipated into the air.

Vowrawn grinned at the wand. "Marvellous! It's a wonderful focus. As Anubin said, it's very nearly perfect!"

Ollivander, oddly, looked a little put out. "That was rather easy, wasn't it. Yes, it does seem quite a good fit. Well, that will do... it's fourteen Galleons for the two of them."

Minerva reached into her robes and pulled out what had to be a moneybag, removing fourteen large gold coins from it. Anubin watched with interest.

"So that's a Galleon. What are your other coins? Sickles and Knuts, right?"

"Yes. Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon," Minerva replied.

"Indeed. Good day to you," Ollivander said, accepting the coins from Minerva.

The three left the shop and continued down the alley, Anubin and Vowrawn glancing into the windows of shops as they passed. One in particular, the Magical Menagerie, caught Anubin's eye, mainly because as they passed the door flew open and a greyish blur came streaking out and attached itself to Anubin's leg.

The shop owner came dashing out after it, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the animal attached to Anubin. "That's where you went! Get back here, you little beast!" He lunged for the animal, who leapt off Anubin into Vowrawn's rather surprised arms and hissed at the man attempting to capture it.

Anubin automatically brought his wand to bear, calling on the Force to stop the shopkeeper in his tracks once again. Then, with exaggerated calm, he took the animal from Vowrawn's arms and held it in front of himself to examine it.

It appeared to be a feline of some sort, though it was rather small and scruffy. Presumably, it was intended to be a pet, so likely it wouldn't get much bigger. It sported a number of scars on its flanks and had a tip torn off its ear, and was covered in so much dirt that it was nearly impossible to tell what colour its fur was. It stared at Anubin in return with bright yellow eyes, which closed for a moment as Anubin looked into them. The animal began to vibrate softly in Anubin's hands, and Anubin realized it was purring.

"She likes you," the shopkeeper said in astonishment, having picked himself off the ground where he'd fallen when Anubin stopped focusing on him. "That cat doesn't like anybody, but she likes you."

"Apparently." Anubin offered the cat to the shopkeeper, but he shook his head.

"You keep 'er. She likes you, and she won't sell in the shop on account of being all torn up like that. Have 'er."

Anubin looked at the cat again. She seemed content, despite the awkward way she was being held. Anubin put her down on the ground, and she immediately pressed herself into his shins.

"I am most grateful," Anubin said. He continued on down the alleyway, the cat following at his heels, along with Vowrawn and MInerva.


	4. We're Outta Here

Ashara returned to the crew's quarters later that night to find Anubin stroking a greyish creature absently while he examined a long wooden stick.

She'd seen him do weirder things, but this was still up there.

"Anubin, what is that?"

"It's a wand. It's this culture's version of a focus."

"Not the wand, the... animal."

As if it knew it was being spoken of, the creature turned it head to glare at Ashara with beady yellow eyes. Ashara shivered under its gaze - those eyes reminded her too much of some Sith Lords she'd met.

"Oh. She's a cat, a small feline bred as housepets on this planet. I call her Advena."

Knowing Anubin's twin, who didn't much like animals - a mutual feeling - she would not be impressed.

"I was hoping to show her to Talos, I thought he might like to examine her tracks."

"He would. Anubin..." Ashara came closer, and wrinkled her nose as she realized exactly how dirty the cat was. "She needs a bath."

"I suppose. Very well." Suddenly, Ashara found herself with one arm full of the cat and the other being pulled by Anubin as he dragged her along to the bathroom. She spluttered out an incoherent protest, but it was ignored.

* * *

After they got the indignant Advena cleaned up, Anubin left for the library to do some more late reading, having not been able to join his crew that morning on account of his lesson. About an hour into one particular advanced spellbook, he discovered something that had the potential to be extremely useful.

He called Xalek and Ashara to him. "Look at this," he said. "These Force users have learned to bend the Force to teleport."

"That's impossible."

"Apparently not. They call it Apparition, which is a rather silly name for something so useful."

"Apparition..." Ashara slammed a fist into her palm. "I remember reading something about that! It said in Hogwarts: A History that there were anti-Apparition wards around the school, so people can't Apparate on the grounds. I didn't know what it was referring to, but I get it now."

"We're going to learn to do this. Whether we have to leave the grounds to do it or not, we're going to learn to teleport."

Of course, first they had to find time to learn how to do so, between Anubin's sessions training the Force users how to work without wands, general research, meals and sleeping, and anything else they had to do. They decided to work mostly at night. After all, what were a few nights with a little less sleep than they'd like versus learning how to teleport?

It took almost a week of practice to make any kind of a breakthrough. Anubin finally managed to disappear and reappear a few metres away, and then Xalek did so an hour or so later. Ashara managed the following day, and soon the three could reliably teleport distances of up to a hundred metres.

The three agreed that the ability to teleport could be quite dangerous in many a Sith Lord's hands, and so they decided to keep their discoveries a secret from the Empire at large. They kept no notes on the subject, and largely ignored the book that had described the process from then on.

* * *

Anubin's students in the Force were progressing well. All of them had finally picked up on how to feel the Force, and most had managed to channel it to levitate small objects. Lily had moved on to being able to summon small sparks of lightning on her fingers, though they were a far cry from the lightning Anubin had once demonstrated his ability to conjure. Still, they were moving faster than most students in the ways of the Force did at first, which was a thought Anubin clung to when his students would drop what they were lifting at the slightest distraction.

* * *

A few days after mastering teleportation, Anubin noticed Minerva leaving the castle early in the morning. This wouldn't be overly remarkable but for the exceedingly early hour - Anubin himself wouldn't have been up, but the Force was roiling like a pot of water on a stove, apparently after or in anticipation of a momentous event - and the way she looked around before she left, as though to make sure no one was following her.

Naturally, Anubin hid himself from perception and followed her.

Minerva headed down the long path to the castle gates. Anubin quickly followed her through the gate before it slammed shut, and reacted to her turning as though to Apparate in time to catch hold of her sleeve to come along with her.

They landed in a heap under a small tree. The shock on the landing forced Anubin to release his hold on the Force, so his cover disappeared and he was visible.

"Anubin! Why did you grab me that way?! You're lucky we weren't Splinched!"

Having nearly had a nasty incident with Splinching himself, Anubin understood where she was coming from. "I'm sorry, Minerva, but you were acting quite oddly - you have to understand why I was intrigued."

Minerva drew herself up to her full height, looking every inch the angry teacher she was, and Anubin automatically flinched away. "Intrigue? That's your excuse? You could cause us to be discovered by these Muggles! I refuse to be discovered here because of you!"

Anubin cloaked himself again and stepped out of her reach. "You won't be discovered because of me. I just want to know what you're doing here. You don't have to tell me anything. I'll just watch."

Minerva opened her mouth to argue, then sighed. "Very well."

Then, to Anubin's great surprise, she turned into a cat and leapt up onto the short wall behind them.

"I have to learn how to do that," he muttered.

Anubin sat down on the wall beside Minerva. He was tempted to reach over and rub behind her ears the way Advena liked, but refrained - he didn't feel the need to rouse her ire so early in the day.

Several hours passed, and the people in their houses began to come out. Most got into their odd little groundcars and drove away - Anubin had to laugh at the technological simplicity of this society - but some walked around and engaged in conversation with their neighbours.

Anubin noticed Minerva focusing on one man in particular, so he followed her gaze. The man was rather unpleasant-looking - widely built, with a red face and a rather horrible mustache, plus an expression that reminded him of Darth Ravage.

Over the course of the day, Minerva and Anubin studied the occupants of the house the unpleasant man had come out of - a woman and child that were likely the man's family. The results of their watching were not encouraging; Anubin found the boy to be an awful little brat, screaming and crying whenever things didn't seem to go his way, and the woman encouraged these habits. She was also rather unpleasant, spending most of her time craning her long neck over the fence to watch her neighbours.

What was worse was the way the Force prickled him when he was around the house, as though it was - unfortunately - important to something. Whatever it was, Anubin didn't much like it. It seemed... tender, and painful, as though there was to be a great loss.

Eventually, the man returned home, and night fell over the street. Shortly after the unpleasant man and his wife went to bed, Minerva looked down the street, and a tall, thin figure appeared.

Suddenly, the streetlamps began to go out, one after the other, until the whole street was shrouded in darkness. Only then did the figure approach.

Dumbledore sat on the wall between Anubin and Minerva. He winked at Anubin, then turned to Minerva.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall, Anubin."

Minerva was suddenly human again, and she looked rather ruffled. Taking this as a sign of safety, Anubin dropped the illusion hiding him.

"How did you know it was me?"

"And how did you know I was there?"

"My dear professor, I have never seen a cat sit so stiffly. And, my dear boy, I have my ways."

"Unhelpful," Anubin muttered, as Minerva replied, "You'd be stiff too if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day."

"All day?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring Anubin's comment. "When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."

"Celebrating what, exactly?" Anubin asked. As far as he knew, there was very little happening that deserved over a dozen parties all at once. It wasn't Life Day yet, and besides, they didn't celebrate that on this little backwater.

Minerva and Dumbledore looked at each other, then back at Anubin.

"I'm afraid we haven't been completely honest with you or your friends," Dumbledore said. "You see, for the past eleven years now, our society has been at war."

"At war? How could we have not noticed a war?"

Minerva scowled at the interruption, but Dumbledore ignored her and continued. "The war never reached Hogwarts. You see, the man who started this war, a man known as Voldemort –" here Minerva flinched, though Dumblrdore seemed not to notice "- fears me, and so keeps away from me."

"What was this war about? And what are we doing here now?"

"Voldemort and his followers,the Death Eaters, started this war because of a difference in belief between them and wizardkind at large. The Death Eaters believed that wizardkind was superior to Muggles, or those without magic, and that we ought not to hide from them. The Death Eaters began to attack and kill Muggles and those witches and wizards who disagreed with them, and so our society has been at war ever since."

"As to what we're doing here," Mineral continued, with a glance at Dumbledore to ensure he was finished, "it was said that last night, he was defeated, but… but Lily and James Potter were killed. And… this is Lily's sister's family."

"Lily and James were killed?"

Dumbledore said nothing, only bowed his head, and Anubin followed suit in remembrance. Minerva let out an awful sob and buried her face in her hands.

"But their son," Dumbledore said, "was not killed with them. Harry survived. And so I have come here to bring him to the last of his family."

"You can't leave him here," Anubin said flatly. "These people are awful."

"I have no other choice. They're the only family he has left. It's for the best."

"What exactly is the reasoning behind that? Because one's family aren't always the best people to raise them. My father, for example –"

"Is irrelevant to this conversation, I'm afraid. My decision is made. Harry will stay here, with his family."

"But Albus –"

Dumbledore stared at Minerva. "Can't you see this is the bet place for him? He needs to grow up away from the Wizarding world, where the fame for his role in taking down Voldemort can't go to his head! He won't even remember it! It's better to leave him here, with his family, who will be better able to explain his fame to him when he's old enough to understand. I've left them a letter for that purpose."

Judging by her expression, Minerva had changed her tune. Anubin wasn't so sure, but he kept his silence.

A plan began to take shape in his mind, but he dismissed it for now; better to figure out the details when he was alone or around those he trusted.

Meanwhile, a rumbling blocked any further attempts at conversation. The rumbling grew into a roar, and them a great main that looked as though it belonged on the ground dropped out of the sky onto the road in front of them.

Anubin had met Hagrid before, so his size was no surprise, but Anubin was struck by how odd he looked surrounded by the trappings of so-called normalcy.

"Hagrid. At last. Where did you get the motorbike?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir. Young Sirius Black lent it me. I've got him here, sir." Hagrid climbed carefully off the motorbike and leaned down to show the three the bundle in his hand.

The Force cried around the bundle, resonating with he loss the baby within had suffered. Anubin also sensed something odd wrapped around the boy's Force signature, such as it was. It was dark and cold and roiling angrily, and Anubin couldn't help but wonder what it was.

"Is that where –" Minerva whispered, gesturing towards the lightning-bolt scar just visible on the boy's forehead.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Hell have that scar forever."

"Couldn't you do something about it?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself, above my left knee, that's a perfect map of the London Underground." He sighed. "Well, give him to me, Hagrid; we'd better get this over with."

Hagrid handed Harry to Dumbledore, but hesitated before drawing his hand back. "Can I – can I say goodbye, sir?"

Hagrid bent over the bundle, then straightened and gave a loud wail.

Dumbledore ignored this, stepping over the low wall to the house. Anubin followed him, leaving Minerva to console the weeping Hagrid.

"Are you certain there's no other way?"

Dbledore looked him in the eyes with his piercing gaze, all trace of his usual twinkle gone. "Yes. This is the only way."

Dumbledore placed the bundle on the front step, then reached into his robes and produced what could only have been his letter. He tucked it into the bundle, then stepped away.

Anubin remained for a moment, watching the child. The Force still cried around him. It seemed to be calling for something to be done.

"It will be done," he murmured. The urgency in the Force diminished somewhat, but it still pulsed around the child.

Anubin stepped away and returned to the group. Hagrid was climbing back onto the motorbike; he kicked the engine to life and roared off into the night. Dumbledore headed down the street in the opposite direction. Suddenly, all the street lamps came back on, and Dumbledore disappeared.

Minerva turned to Anubin. "Back to Howards for us."

"Indeed."

Minerva took his offered arm, turned, and Disapparated.

Together, Anubin and Minerva made their way through the castle to the tower where Anubin and his crew were staying. Minerva left him at the door without a word.

He paced the common room for some time, trying to figure out a more solid plan and waiting until he couldn't sense anyone else awake in the castle.

Two hours after his return, he finally sensed Minerva fall asleep, and he couldn't sense Dumbledore in the castle, so he put his plan into action.

He woke his crew and Darth Vowrawn and assembled them in the common room. Quickly, he explained the basics of the situation and his plan.

"...so, we're going to take Harry Potter and leave the planet," he finished. "We'll need to move quickly, before morning comes and his relatives find him."

"Anubin, is this wise? As interesting as they are, perhaps we should leave the politics of the planet to the inhabitants, and leave the boy where he is."

"I know you might not understand my sentimental reasons, but the Force cries for him. It calls me to help him, and who am I to disagree with the Force? And another thing... I'm not certain we should invade this planet. I believe more study is needed. Perhaps a test: take a citizen to become Sith?"

"I see. Yes, you have a point."

"Alright. Ashara, Xalek, Khem, go to the library and take as many useful books as you can carry. Spellbooks, wandlore, that sort of thing. History is less important, but if you can find some ancient histories, take them if you can. Talos, Andronikos, go and make sure the _Angel_ is ready for takeoff. Don't start the engines until I return; they'll give us away. Vowrawn, do what you will, but make sure you're on the _Angel_ with the rest of us."

"I shall aid the library team."

"Very well. I'll go and get Harry. I shouldn't be long, so be quick."

The crew headed out. Anubin made his way out of the front cates as quickly as possible, hiding himself just in case.

Once he was out of the wards, he put his whole focus on the street where they'd left Harry, and turned in the familiar motion of Apparition.

He appeared with a loud crack by the wall where he had sat all day. He hurried up the walk to where Harry lay, still asleep in his blankets. Gently, Anubin lifted the bundle and cradled it to his chest while he hurried back down the walk.

Once he was over the wall, he focused on the area near the _Angel_ , pulled harry in close to his chest, and turned and Apparated once more.

He appeared right next to his beloved ship. Harry, woken and unsettled by the feeling of Apparition, began to cry.

"Hush, Harry," Anubin whispered, instinctively rocking him. The sound of Harry's cries echoed everywhere, and Anubin worried they'd give them away.

Anubin dashed around the _Angel_ to the loading ramp and ran up. He was met at the top by Darth Vowrawn, who opened the door for him.

Anubin took a seat in the main hold, still rocking the crying Harry. "I can't get him to stop."

"You're doing the right thing. Just keep rocking him, he should settle soon." Vowrawn turned as the rest of the library team emerged from the cargo hold.

"I think we were followed," Ashara reported. "We can't go back for a second trip even if we weren't."

"Well done in any case. If the books are loaded into the cargo hold, tell Andronikos to take off."

Still holding the now-quieted Harry, Anubin headed to the cockpit and strapped himself into the captain's chair. As he did so, he heard the engines starting, and a moment later the ship shuddered and took off.

The _Angel_ angled herself towards open space, as if she was as eager as her inhabitants to leave Earth. Her sensors reported several life forms gathered on the ground, but none of the _Angel_ 's crew paid them any mind.

That being said, when the _Angel_ finally made the jump to hyperspace, Anubin breathed a sigh of relief.


	5. Growing Up is Hard to Do

Three days later, when the _Angel_ arrived on Dromund Kaas, Anubin called a meeting of the Dark Council. He set it for a week after their arrival, to give himself some time to settle in with Harry and to get his crew's reports in order.

He'd been keeping his information in order as he retrieved it, and he'd attended the Dark Council meetings by holo, so he was still well-caught-up on events in the galaxy. The main focus of this meeting was to get the rest of the Council up to speed with the events on Earth.

"…so I don't believe it wise or necessary to attempt an invasion of Earth. We have limited – though expanded – understanding of their Force-users' knowledge and capabilities, never mind those of the non-Force-users; they're so caught up in themselves that they would hardly be of any use as Imperial citizens; and their society is still very primitive, which would make it difficult to assimilate them. In short, it would be an utter waste of useful resources to conquer them. Best to leave them to rebuild from their war.

"However, their Force-users may make capable Sith, and to that end, I've brought back a child from Earth. I will raise him to be Sith, as an experiment of sorts."

"Will a child raised in the Empire act any differently than an Imperial child?" Darth Mortis mused. "It is a clever thought, Occlus, but it would have been better to take an adult."

"Perhaps. I did intend on recruiting – the boy's parents would have made ideal candidates – but they were killed before I could bring up the subject."

"Very well," Marr said. "Is that all?"

"It is."

The meeting turned to other urgent topics. When it was over and the Councillors were leaving the council chambers, Marr approached Anubin.

"I wish to meet the child."

"Of course."

Anubin brought Marr to his apartment. Upon stepping in, Anubin was accosted by a worried Ashara.

"Harry won't stop crying. He just started crying all of a sudden,ad he won't stop no matter what I do. I've tried to feed him, I've… Oh. Lord Marr. My apologies, I didn't notice you there."

Marr silently followed Anubin to Harry's room. Anubin picked Harry up and bounced him up and down, successfully quieting the boy. Harry's eyes opened and he looked around, stopping curiously on Marr.

"Ba!" Harry held his hands out to Marr. "Up!"

"Oh, Harry," Anubin began, but fell silent as Marr reached out and lifted Harry out of his arms.

Marr cradled the child on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the spikes there. Harry happily pressed a hand to Marr's mask, which the Sith bore without comment.

"Pa! Up!" Harry raised his arms toward the ceiling, and Marr obliged, lifting him into the air. Harry laughed.

Anubin wished he had a holocam.

Harry began to flap his arms up and down. "No! Da!" He pointed at Anubin. Marr placed Harry back in Anubin's arms.

"Thank you, Marr."

Marr didn't say anything. Instead, he reached out and slid the door shut using the Force.

"Lord Marr…" Anubin murmured, his voice dropping into a lower register.

"You've been after me for some time," Marr replied. "Attempting to court one who is so much your elder is foolish, Occlus."

"One cannot help who they fall in love with."

"Indeed."

"You mean…" Anubin's voice was barely a whisper. In answer, Marr reached up and removed his mask.

He looked like a normal man, nothing like the horror the rumors suggested. He was dark-skinned, with thinning grey hair and some wrinkles. He also lacked eyes.

"You're… a Miraluka," Anubin realized.

"I am."

Anubin reached out as though to touch Marr's face, but thought better of it. Instead, Anubin busied himself with turning and tucking Harry into bed. "You're quite a handsome man, you know."

"I have not been told such before."

"Well, now you have."

Having finished putting Harry in bed, Anubin turned back around to face Marr. The older man had stepped closer in the meantime, and they now stood almost chest to chest.

"May I kiss you?" Anubin asked breathlessly.

Marr leaned forward and answered Anubin's question wordlessly.

* * *

They spent some time in Harry's room, sitting on the sofa just talking and kissing – mostly chaste, but speaking of a further fire. Anubin often let Marr take the lead, just to see where he would go.

The subject turned to Earth and Anubin's experiences there, and he recounted some stories of his classes with the group Dumbledore had introduced him to. That subject led to Harry, and what Anubin planned to do with him.

"I may send him to the Academy when he's older. But at the same time, what Mortis said earlier got me thinking. It may be best for him to be educated on Earth, in the ways of his people, first. I may return with him to Earth when he's older."

"That plan has some merit."

"I thought so. I would, of course, have to be on Earth to supervise, or I would have to send one of my crew along with him. Which would be difficult. But he gets nervous when I'm not nearby. I'm hoping it's just because he's a baby yet, but I can't tell."

"It is most likely that it is because he is young."

"Probably. I was thinking, though… since he's so inconsolable when I'm not around, I may have to start bringing him to Council meetings."

"Absolutely not."

"But he's just a baby. He won't disrupt anything yet. If he was older I'd understand, but he'd just sleep during the meetings, I'm sure."

"You cannot bring a baby to a Dark Council meeting, Occlus."

"It's Anubin. And just you watch me."

"You won't be swayed on this."

"No I won't. You'll see, Harry won't be any bother."

Marr looked him in the eye, which was a fairly uncomfortable experience coming from a man with no eyes. "If he makes any noise during the next Council meeting, he will not be allowed to the next one."

"I knew I could get you to see things my way." Anubin laid a gentle kiss on Marr's cheek. The surprise and vague affection on the older man's face was a beautiful thing.

* * *

 _One month later_

Anubin walked into the Dark Council meeting with Harry in a sling across his chest.

Ravage stared at him. "Occlus, you can't bring a baby to a Dark Council meeting!"

"Haven't got a choice," Anubin said absently. "My crew are all gone, besides Khem Val, and he'd be as likely to eat Harry as take care of him. Besides, what harm can he do? He can hardly crawl yet."

"Very well, Occlus," Marr said. "Do not allow the child to distract you."

He didn't.

* * *

 _Two months later_

Darth Marr stared at the fretting infant in his cradle. What was he supposed to do? Should he let the child cry, or pick him up and attempt to soothe him?

Marr cursed Anubin. Why did he have to leave Marr alone in his apartment to look after Harry? Marr's understanding of children was very limited, given that he had never cared for one.

Marr suddenly noticed a smell, just as Harry opened his mouth and began to cry in earnest. Marr's already sour mood darkened.

He did the first thing he could think of: he called Anubin on the holo.

Anubin answered on the first ring. "What is it? Is something wrong with Harry?"

"He's soiled himself."

"Oh. That's all?"

At Marr's silence, Anubin made a realization. "Oh. You… Oh. Well… I'm about an hour away, can you manage?"

"No."

"Yes you can. I'll guide you through it. First, bring him over to the change table…"

Anubin guided Marr through the process of changing Harry. When it was finished, Harry was happily snuggled into Marr's shoulder, much to Anubin's delight and – secretly – Marr's.

"That is all."

"Alright. I'll be home soon."

* * *

 _One year later_

The curtains were on fire.

"Again?" Anubin muttered, heading over to put them out. "Ashara!"

The Togruta poked her head out from her room. "Yes?"

"Where is Harry?"

"In his room."

"And where are your lightsabers? Because the curtains were aflame again, and I know it wasn't me who set them on fire."

"I've been out for the last hour. You sent me to get food while you were at that ribbon-cutting ceremony, remember?"

"Right. Andronikos!"

When there was no answer, Anubin headed for Harry's room, where he found both Andronikos and Harry asleep. At the sound of his entrance, Andronikos stirred.

"What? What's with the look on your face?"

"Someone set the curtains on fire again, and I recall telling you to leave your blasters out of Harry's reach if you're going to fall asleep on him like this."

"I swear, I left them in the cabinet!"

Anubin checked and found the blasters tucked neatly away on the top shelf of the cabinet.

"Then how…?"

Harry giggled suddenly, reaching out for the blasters. One of them began to float out of the cupboard and into the air.

Anubin jumped up, grabbed the blaster, and placed it back into the cupboard where it belonged.

"Remind me to get a lock for that door," he muttered.

* * *

 _Three months later_

Advena watched as the toddler tore through the kitchen, her brother in hot pursuit.

"I don't wanna take a bath!" Harry yelled.

"Too bad! You're taking a bath, or you don't get to see Vowrawn!"

"No!"

"Harry," Advena said calmly, "What happens when little Advena gets dirty?"

"She takes a bath. But –"

"And what happens when Anubin gets dirty?"

"He takes a bath. But Auntie Vena –"

"And when you get dirty, you have to take a bath. Which means that you should stop now and take your bath."

"But I'm not dirty!"

"Then why are you tracking mud everywhere?"

"That's not me! That's Dad!"

"It isn't. You want to see Grandpa, don't you?"

Harry pouted. "Yeah, but I don't wanna take a bath."

"Why not?"

"'Cause… just 'cause!"

"Take a bath, Harry," Advena advised. "They're warm and comfortable, and when you're older you'll wish you'd taken more."

Harry frowned, mulling this over. "Okay. But I want Dad to take a bath too!"

Anubin sighed. "If it'll make you happy, I'll take a bath too."

"Yay!" Harry charged over to the bathroom. Anubin shared a look with Advena.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure. But hurry up, we don't want to arrive too late."

"Of course."

* * *

 _Six months later_

"No, no, Harry! Not on the painting!"

Harry looked back at Anubin, paintbrush raised in the air ready to come down on a beautiful Voss landscape. "Why?"

"Because… because you're only supposed to be painting on your paper, not on other people's paintings. And I said not to."

"Oh. Can I paint on the wall?"

"I… why do you want to?"

"Because grey is a yucky colour. I want to have all kinds of pretty colours on the walls!"

"Hmm… tell you what. We'll paint the walls in your room instead of these ones. Okay?"

"Okay! What colours can we do?"

"Well, we can go to the paint store and pick five different colours."

"Five? Yay!"

* * *

 _One year later_

"Grampa!" Harry raced past Anubin into Vowrawn's waiting arms.

"Harry! Hello!" Vowrawn lifted the boy onto his lap, smiling as Anubin approached the duo. "Hello, Occlus."

"Vowrawn. I see you're keeping in trouble's path, as always."

Vowrawn laughed. "Of course. And how's trouble treating you?"

"I manage, somehow."

Harry clued into the conversation. "I am not trouble!"

"Of course not, you're a darling. Come on, we need to get to our seat."

Anubin sat on his throne with Harry sitting on the floor next to him. The Council meeting went as normal until almost the end, when Anubin suddenly realized Harry was no longer next to him. He almost said something, but then he spotted Harry behind Ravage's throne.

Anubin watched as Harry reached out and concentrated. As he did, Ravage's cape rose up and flew over his head, covering his face and causing him to cut off his speech with a frustrated cry.

All of a sudden, Harry was back beside Anubin's seat where he belonged, without apparently having moved. Ravage shoved his cape back over his head and glared around the room.

"Who did that?!"

No one said anything, though several Councillors wore smirks similar to Anubin's.

With a frustrated growl, Ravage gave up on his question and continued his speech. When he wasn't looking, Anubin gave Harry a pat on the head.

Harry beamed.

* * *

 _One year later_

"Dad! Dad!" Anubin woke to the sound of Harry whisper-shouting at him and shaking his arm. The boy had tears dripping down his face.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Anubin sat up and lifted Harry onto his lap, careful not to disturb Marr, who was asleep next to him.

"I had a bad dream! There was a lady with red hair, and… and a scary man, and then there was a flash of green light… I can't remember. But my scar hurts."

"Oh, Harry. You'll be alright." Anubin touched the scar and frowned. He reached out his Force senses.

There was a strange darkness wrapped around Harry. What Anubin had recognized when he first saw Harry as some sort of blight now had a stranglehold on the boy's Force signature. It was pulsing and roiling, apparently in a state of distress – Anubin couldn't tell if it was because of Harry or if it was affecting him.

"Harry, I need you to let me into your mind for a moment."

Harry hesitated. "…Okay, Dad."

Anubin probed deep into Harry's mind, careful not to hurt him. Buried deep was the source of the distress, a presence completely unlike Harry's.

Anubin probed the dark presence carefully. The presence recoiled, them sent a probe back at Anubin's mind with great force but little finesse. Anubin deflected the attack easily.

He retaliated, and suddenly he was reading the presence. It's memories washed over Anubin, a stream of information about Earth that could come in useful. In its surface thoughts, Anubin found Harry's dream, the memory of the night he presence was attached to Harry.

With a frown, Anubin pulled away from the presence and out of Harry's mind. Anubin sighed and carefully rested his forehead on Harry's.

"What is it, Dad?"

"There is… a presence, inside your head."

"Like another person?"

"Precisely. The problem is, I don't know how to get it out without hurting you."

"Is the other person hurting me? Is that why my scar hurts?"

"Yes, it's probably why your scar hurts. Other than that, though, I don't think it's hurting you. It might even be helping you."

Harry frowned. "I don't get it."

"You might be able to draw power from the presence, maybe even without realizing it."

"Oh. So it makes me stronger? Can it make me big and strong like Papa?"

Anubin smiled. "Maybe. It certainly makes your connection to the Force stronger. We'll work on drawing on the presence in meditation."

"Okay." Harry wrapped his arms around Anubin's neck. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're most welcome. Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Yeah!"

So Anubin and Harry settled back into sleep, Anubin cradling Harry to his chest like he had when Harry was a baby.

* * *

 _Two months later_

Anubin cursed under his breath. Where did Harry go?

It was the night of his annual Life Day party, and he had ordered his son not to wander around the apartment – not to get too far from Anubin, in fact – and yet the first opportunity he had, Harry had slipped away.

Anubin was worried for a good reason. His guests included a large number of Sith lords – mostly those he couldn't risk offending – including members of the Dark Council. And he'd foolishly invited both Ravage and Mortis, and knowing those two, they'd either be duelling or singing by the end of the night, nether of which Anubin wanted Harry to be subjected to.

Anubin was so preoccupied by his worries that he didn't notice Marr's appearance in front of him by Harry's favourite little alcove under the stairs until he'd nearly walked into Marr.

"Marr! Ah…"

"What are you doing, Occlus?"

"Looking for Harry. Have you seen him around?" He tried to sound casual, but Marr knew him better than that.

"I have not. I will look for him."

Suddenly, Marr looked up. Anubin followed his gaze to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging above them, unsupported but for the power of the Force. Anubin rolled his eyes as he realized who was holding it. He was about to call up the stairs, but them Marr's lips were on his in an unfortunately chaste kiss.

When they broke apart, Anubin laughed and touched Marr's cheek before pulling his mask back down.

"Good enough for you?" Anubin called up the stairs.

Two heads poked out over the banister. "You getting a room would be better, but this will do," Advena said merrily.

"I thought it was cute!" Harry chimed in.

Anubin couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

 _One year later_

The holo-image of Harry and Marr flickered in and out before finally dying. Anubin scowled at the holocom, almost throwing it away, before thinking better of it and placing it back into his belt.

"Apologies, my lord," came the orbital team's voice in his ear. "We'll work on getting communications back."

"Do hurry up with it. I want Marr back." And Harry, he didn't add.

"Of course. In the meantime, keep heading for the skyhook. We need it to do most anything on this rock."

A short while later, Anubin and Advena cleared the skyhook and sent the all-clear to the orbital team. Shortly after that, they heard the sound of ships docking in the docking ring, and they headed up to the docking level to meet their team.

As soon as he stepped out of the turbolift, Anubin was accosted by a worried-looking Harry. "Dad! I was so worried – we lost contact, and I thought you'd been attacked – Papa said it was just the atmosphere messing with communications – but I'm glad you're okay!"

"I'm just fine," Anubin said, pulling Harry into a hug. "No attack could ever stop me from getting back to you, understand?"

Harry nodded solemnly, then his face broke out into a grin. "You should have seen Papa when the comm went dead! He was so mad! He didn't do anything really, he just kind of stomped around and said they gotta get you back on the comm – but it was kriffin' scary!"

Anubin frowned. "Where did you learn that word?"

Harry looked at the floor and mumbled something indistinct.

"What was that?"

"Uncle 'Dronikos says it a lot."

"Is that so? Remind me to give him a good stern talking to when I return. But first, where is Marr?"

"He's back on the orbital station. He said it was probably better for him not to come down. I think he's just scared of Auntie Vena."

"Even I'm scared of Vena."

Harry laughed. Advena stuck her tongue out at her brother's back.

"You should go back up and join him, Harry." Before Harry could protest, Anubin continued. "It's dangerous down here. I have a bad feeling about this planet. And Marr will miss you if you come along with me."

"Okay," Harry muttered. "But you gotta comm me whenever you come back to this skyhook, deal?"

"Deal." The two shook on it, before Anubin continued towards the speeder post and Harry towards the orbital shuttle.

* * *

 _Three months later_

"You can't come with me on this mission. Corellia is an active war zone, and besides that, Dark Councillors have been killed there in the past few months."

"But Auntie Jaesa gets to go! And she's not that much older than me!"

"Jaesa is well over twenty years older than you are. Besides that, she's Advena's apprentice, and she has had extensive lightsaber training."

At Harry's frown, Anubin sighed. "Tell you what. When you're old enough to have built your own lightsaber and chosen a Form, I'll bring you on a mission. Alright?"

"Okay. But you better keep that promise!"

"I will. Be good for Ashara. I'll be back soon."

"'Kay."

* * *

 _One year later_

Anubin watched as the parts came together in the air before Harry. The boy himself had his eyes closed, concentrating hard on fitting the lightsaber parts together properly.

When Harry began to move one of the parts into the wrong position, Anubin forced himself to say nothing. If he said anything now, the boy would lose his focus and drop the parts, possibly damaging one of them. Fortunately, Harry noticed on his own and corrected it before continuing.

Slowly, the lightsaber hilt came together, each part fitting together perfectly. The crystal, a bright teal gem that Marr had brought for Harry from a planet on the front lines, went in last before Harry closed the casing.

Harry plucked the lightsaber from the air and gingerly, holding the hilt away from him at arm's length, activated it. The blade sprung to life with a satisfying snap-hiss. Harry carefully waved it around a little, then stood and assumed the stance of the basic Shii-Cho Form. He slashed out with the blade, then turned to Anubin with a grin.

"It works! I built my own lightsaber, and it works!"

"Yes. And I am very proud of you, Harry."

Harry deactivated his blade and threw himself at Anubin for a hug. Anubin obliged, lifting the boy up into the air.

"Soon enough, you'll be too big for me to lift anymore. You'll be as big as me before we know it!"

"I bet Papa will still be able to pick me up, though."

"Papa can pick us both up at the same time, of course he'll be able to pick you up."

"That's true!"

Anubin let go of Harry, and he dropped to the floor with a laugh. "Hey Dad. Guess what."

"What is it?"

"Now that I've built a lightsaber, you have to take me on a mission!"

"Do I? I don't recall having promised that…"

Harry punched Anubin's arm. "Dad!"

"Kidding. I'll take you on the next mission, but there'll be a few rules."

"Dad…"


End file.
